MaidSafe, a start-up developing a fully decentralised, secure approach to the Internet, has launched an equity fund-raising round with BnkToTheFuture, a leading global online investment platform.

The startup is looking to raise between £1.75m and £2m during the 30 day campaign. This follows the company’s successful launch of the alpha version of its network, called the SAFE (Secure Access for Everyone) Network, which is made up of the unused hard drive space, processing power and data connection of its users. It offers a level of security and privacy not currently available on the existing Internet and turns the tables on companies, putting users in control of their data, rather than trusting it to organisations.

The company explained its reasons for choosing BnkToTheFuture platform saying:

“We have chosen BnktotheFuture for a number of reasons. They have a large online community of qualified investors, interested in the decentralised technology sector. There is a strong relationship with the crypto-communities, which is important to us, and investors will be able to invest in both traditional currency, bitcoin and even some of the more liquid altcoins like Ether. Above all it also means we will remain in control of our strategy and roadmap, which is really important to us as we want the SAFE Network to be available for everyone to use and develop on.”

This round of funding will enable MaidSafe to continue recruitment of top developer talent to build out the features and functionality of the network, and to grow awareness amongst application developers and strategic partners.

“We are incredibly excited to be launching this investment round with BnkToTheFuture, as it gives us the ability to secure funding without ceding control of our strategy and roadmap,” explained David Irvine, founder and CEO, MaidSafe. “Given all of the frustrations with current Internet services we believe MaidSafe, together with the SAFE Network community, is ideally positioned to offer a secure and more efficient alternative, which will create compelling opportunities for investors interested in this global opportunity.”

Started in 2006 by Scottish engineer David Irvine, MaidSafe gives utmost importance to security and privacy of users. Its approach removes the need for the centralised servers inherent in the Worldwide Web today. Moreover, the company has also sought to address the imbalance in the current shared economy. It is also developing a crypto-currency, Safecoin, which will be used as a mechanism to reward users and application developers in a much fairer manner.